The Allan Mckay Podcast

I've gotten into so many conversations about the gear lying around my house from camera equipment to art on my walls with friends and with everyone on Facebook when a photo gets posted that I thought I would share some of these things. Better yet, I wanted to share the devices, apps and services I use almost DAILY to freelance and get my work done, work faster, more efficiently, even if it means coming off a bit weird with some of these things! Oh and lastly - I have no affiliation with any of this stuff, other than I use it, no profit or gain from sharing this, other than if I get to start seeing people standing on foam rollers at their stand up desk one day, I'll feel a little proud inside. So I just wanted to get that out of the way ;)   For an in-depth report and links to all of the tools, check out the show notes here      

After a small hiatus, Allan McKay returns with a new episode 'Creative Negotiation'. Learning to step away from the black and white form of trade that we're typically used to, and instead prioritize what your real current career goals and needs are, and proceed to negotiate actual needs that benefit you more. While also acknowledging the other party's needs to align the discussion with what they want, to get what you really want. Show-notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/64/  

Probably one of the more controversial episodes put out - as is anything to do with money. But this episode dives into understanding the logistics of what you charge as a freelancer and how to re-think it all to get what you are worth, but also do it in a way that your clients get exactly what they want as well.Show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/63/

Pete Draper is an industry veteran with 20 years of experience working in the UK and India on many amazing projects. He's co-founder and CTO of Makuta in Hyderabad, India a vfx studio responsible for many high profile feature films. This was a fun chat covering so much from freelance to relocating to new countries, touching on much of the 3D industry 'back in the day' as well as productivity and his book 'Deconstructing the elements' as well as plenty more! Makuta VFX Pete Draper's Website Deconstructing the Elements Check out show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/62/  

This episode is a sit down with Chad Wanstreet (Episode 18 and 19) casually talking about overtime, burnout and a lot of issues with the industry. This is from two people who know the grind all too well and shedding a lot of light on it from many different and unique perspectives.   Chad Episode 18 Chad Episode 19 Chad's Vimeo Show notes located at http://www.allanmckay.com/61/  

  Jami works at Bungie in Seattle, WA well known for Halo and Destiny among other high profile projects. This episode we dive into her role at Bungie on Destiny, as well as her experiences graduating from college and going into video games, and how she managed to literally walk into a job at Bungie and a lot of the key reasons behind that which I think is really fascinating. As well as sharing her own female perspective of working in the video game industry as well. There's a lot of really valuable takeaways from this episode as well as just being an all-round fun episode to listen to!   For show notes visit :  http://www.allanmckay.com/60/ Jami's Twitter : https://twitter.com/justjamij Jami's GDC talk handout : http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1021793/Animation-Bootcamp-The-Missing-Link  

Matt Conway is a Digital Matte Painter having worked on movie projects such as Avatar, Avengers Age of Ultron, Shutter Island, Game of Thrones and dozens of others. During this interview we discuss everything from his initial upbringing and transition into VFX to travel, techniques and superbowl, as well as Stallone and Arnie and a heck of a lot more. We dive into lots of good stuff, lots of goofy stuff, we do talk sex and censorship and other ridiculous things - so those who might be a bit sensitive maybe skip ahead if hearing words like 'boobs' offend you.   Matt Conway's Website : http://mattconwayart.com/ Artist Insight Series :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kScuvirgjjI  

Omar is a character TD at Dreamworks Animation in Los Angeles working on projects like Kung Fu Panda 2, How to train your dragon 2, Rise of the Guardians and many others. During this episode we cover a lot of really great subjects and particularly dive into his experience going from a student into a character TD role at one of the biggest animation studios in the world, and many of the struggles we typically face that he was able to overcome.  

Darryl Johnson is a 3D generalist working for studios in LA like Blur and Blizzard Cinematics, as well as previously in Detroit at various car commercial houses.This episode is a fun filled episode covering everything from video games and getting started, to diving into a lot of bigger subjects to do with career, moving city's and working at big studios.Show notes here Darryl's Website Darryl's Vimeo Linkedin The Wedding Video!   Join the career intensive here  

Ash Thorp is a director, illustrator and creative director - who has worked on countless feature films and other creative projects. Some of his projects include Dawn of the planet of the apes, Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation, James Bond Spectre, Call of Duty, Prometheus, Iron Man 3, The Walking Dead and dozens of others. He also has a podcast 'The Collective' which interviews many creatives and I highly recommend it. Ash also runs his own online school 'Learn Squared' and his various personal film projects in the works. This is a fantastic episode that covers a lot of insights into working, life balance, keeping your creative drive, and so much more. Ash is as insightful as he is talented and shares a lot of really vital information that any creative in the industry should benefit greatly from. (More links to come) Shownotes @ http://www.allanmckay.com/56/Sign up for this video series to receive more information about the mentorship The website of Ash ThorpThe CollectiveOur episode of The Collective - episo

This episode was originally a personal article I wrote about dealing with self doubt, failure and also how all of us have those people around us who push negativity onto us and make us question ourselves. I wrote it for a few people very close to me who have experienced a lot of this that I've seen first hand out influential figures in their lives have made them want to give up on their hopes and dreams and go after something more 'realistic'. We should all be careful about what we say to others and how our words can have impact on those around us, and we mightn't even be aware most of the time that we're doing this - but we're all in a position to help bring people up rather than pull them down. Show notes @ http://www.allanmckay.com/55/ (You can read the original article there) To access the mentorship as well as download 8 hours of new high-end free training videos go to http://www.allanmckay.com/55download/    

This episode is an unofficial sequel to Ep 52 on US work visas, but this is more tailored to worldwide rather than just in the US. As well as giving a hands on insight as well as Allan's experiences with the visa process and what to expect. Check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/54/ To listen to Episode 52 with Amanda Gillespie talking about US work visas go to http://www.allanmckay.com/52/ For Dan Roarty's episode go to http://www.allanmckay.com/30/ For the episode on 'How to start your own country' check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syujTp5m5Vk Please leave comments or ask questions for upcoming episode visit the show notes. Otherwise email Allan at amckay@allanmckay.com   

This episode is a big one on goal setting we cover a lot of great subjects and topics situated around goal setting but more importantly actionable steps to building better habits rather than it just being simple mindsets that aren't going to do us any good.Two key things I reference is the Dickens ProcessS.M.A.R.T. goals (I decided not to link to anything as I'd rather you find the links that best resonate with you on this subject!) I would love to get your feedback, so please leave a comment in the show notes http://www.allanmckay.com/53/ any questions you have - or questions about visas, or other discoveries I'd love to hear about them and I plan to answer a lot of them in next episodes podcast!  

Amanda Gillespie is Manager of Extraordinary Ability Cases for Samuel Christensen Law Firm PLLC in New York. Amanda works daily with many of the artists and creatives alike migrating to the United States each year, helping build their cases and assisting them in the process of obtaining visas, greencards and work permits to work in the U.S. This subject, especially for a lot of visual effects artists, game designers, directors, musicians, and other creatives in our industry is quite a ellusive subject, as many of us aspire to at some point in our career work in the UK, EU, AU, CAN, USA and other countries and typically it's not so straight forward in terms of obtaining exactly 'how' to go about this. Whether you have always wanted to work in the U.S. or you simply might want to take some of the insights here to apply to your plans to work in other countries - this episode is a goldmine of information straight from one of the top authorities on this subject. One that I personally have worked with personally th

This episode is about how learning a little code, can go a long way for artists and creatives. Most of us are intimidated by programming and think it's only for math guys and people wired a certain way, where it's really about learning just how to approach it a different way - you don't need to know math to code, you don't need to be 'super smart' to code. You just need to know how to apply it to what you're doing and approach it a little differently to the norm.This is all about learning to automate your tasks and work more efficiently, and in this episode we dive right into this! Check out this free video below on how to get up to speed fast with a little bit of scripting!Show notes @ http://www.allanmckay.com/51/Video tutorial intro to scripting @ http://www.allanmckay.com/51download/

This is a 1 hour master class from March 2015 in Paris, condensing a lot of information into a rapid fire session!On top of that, December is about closing 2015 out strong and gearing up for making 2016 your year! Check out the show notes at www.allanmckay.com/50/If you want to attend the It's Art Masterclass 2016 in Paris in March, check out the links below!Some of the speakers include:Craig MullinsAaron McBride (ILM)Raphael Lacoste(Ubisoft )Marc Brunet (Blizzard)Carlos Baena(Animation Mentor)Nicolas Prothais (Disney)Ian McQueFausto De MartiniIn-Ah Roediger (MPC)Mark TheriaultMarc SimonettiAllan McKayAnselm von Seherr-ThossClick here for more information!http://www.iamag.co/features/event/its-art-master-classes-16/Also don't forget to follow me on periscope and twitter! @allanftmckayhttps://twitter.com/allanftmckayand Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/allanmckay1982/Finally get on the insiders list at http://www.allanmckay.com/inside/And again check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/50/

Next Limit are the creators of industry standard water simulation software 'Realflow' - based out in Madrid, Spain. This episode is with the development team at Next Limit, including NL's CEO Victor Gonzalez, Luis Miguel More, Ivan Alduan, Alex Ribao, Angel Tena and Gus Sanchez. Discussing the history of Realflow as well as much of it's key features and giving insight into the development team! You can check out more information as well as the promo they are running below! Victor Gonzalez - Next Limit's CEOAngel Tena - RealFlow Head of DevelopmentIvan Alduan, Alex Ribao, Enrique Turegano ( RealFlow Developers)Luis Miguel Mora - RF Specialist and Tech SupportGus Sanchez - former RF Product Manager Luis Miguel Mora's Blog : https://luismma.wordpress.com/Gus Sanchez's Blog - http://cgmatters.blogspot.com.es/Next Limit Tech on Vimeo : https://vimeo.com/nextlimitRealFlow's Youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/user/RealFlowLabs Realflow Promo - http://www.realflow.com/buy/upgradeCheck out the insiders list @ h

Beau is the VP of Business Development at TurboSquid - which a lot of people associate with their enormous 3D model library, as well as plug-ins and other items that they sell for 3D artists. Their industry standard CheckMate process has also made waves over the years as well. And more recently, they've released a service called PixelSquid for generating realtime 3D assets for use by Photoshop artists.For show notes check out http://www.allanmckay.com/48/Turbosquid: http://www.turbosquid.com PixelSquid: http://www.pixelsquid.com Checkmate: http://www.turbosquid.com/CheckMate   Also make sure you sign up to the insiders list! http://www.allanmckay.com/inside/ follow me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allanmckay1982/ And finally Periscope and twitter! https://twitter.com/allanftmckay  

This episode is focused on something that affects us all, but also more recently for me has actually been a very critical subject, as we all face those times that completely derail us from our path, habits and routine. Sometimes it's just for a few days, other times it can for months or even years! So how do you deal with this? Whether it's a creative block or whether it's a long relationship that might send you into a downward spiral, or dozens of other reasons that are common and frequent? Show notes here: http://www.allanmckay.com/47/ Just as a heads up - I will be doing some really fun Periscope career sessions _LIVE_ very soon so keep an eye out! Sign up now so you receive alerts (it's all free) https://twitter.com/allanftmckayFollow me on instagram - because I seem obsessed with it right now. https://instagram.com/allanmckay1982/ And more information about the mentorship coming up soon!  

Mitch is the founder of Pencil Kings an online training site that teaches illustration and drawing techniques - his background comes from working in film and games for various big name clients in Canada and the United States and China. At a turning point in Mitches life, he decided to risk everything and take action, creating his own business and designing his own lifestyle that would allow him total freedom to travel the world and live the life that he wanted to live, while also running his own business completely virtual - online, giving artists the tools and knowledge to build their career and follow their passions in traditional art and drawing. Mitch's story is both inspirational, as well as instructional, as an amazing case study on how you can take the initiative and get out of your comfort zone, take some calculated risks and build the lifestyle that YOU want to live, doing both the things you love but also having total freedom in how you do it! Check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/46